Content Area(s): Earth/Space, Eng/Tech, Life, Physical Topic: Changing Mars to support human life Short description: Terraforming, or planetary engineering, is the process of altering a planet to make it more hospitable for human life. Since Mars has all the elements needed for life, we should be able to transform the planet with existing technology.
Claim: Humans might be able to terraform the planet Mars.
Keywords: terraforming, Mars Difficulty of Concept: Easy
MS-ETS1 Engineering Design
MS-ETS1-1. Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy
RST.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations descriptions.
RST.6-8.8 Distinguish among facts and reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text.
WHST.6-8.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
WHST.6-8.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational text to support analysis, reflection and research.
SL.8.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions(one-on-one, in groups, teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
If we are ever going to colonize Mars, it is likely we will start with terraforming. Terraforming or planetary engineering is the process of altering a planet to make it more hospitable for human life. Mars is the best candidate for terraforming in our solar system. In this case terraforming would turn Mars into a more Earth-like planet.
Mars was once a warm, wet planet. Today it is a cold, desert-like world mostly devoid of water and with a thin atmosphere of mostly carbon dioxide. In order to make Mars habitable for humans, it will be necessary to warm the planet and create a thick atmosphere rich in nitrogen and oxygen. Although no evidence of life has yet been found, Mars has all of the elements we need for life. With only the technologies existing today it would be possible to change Mars into an Earth-like planet. In fact, many distinguished scientists at NASA have carefully gone through the numbers involved and concluded that the terraforming of Mars is not only achievable but plausible.
The temperature of Mars is minus 55 degrees Celsius. So we would first need to heat up the planet. This could be done by directing more of the sun’s energy toward the surface of Mars, perhaps by using huge mirrors. Once Mars becomes warmer, ice would melt and release CO2 that scientist think is trapped in rocks. We would then introduce bacteria and blue-green algae to start turning the CO2 into oxygen gas and to start transforming the soil. As the temperature continues to rise, more greenhouse gases will be released helping to thicken the atmosphere. We could then introduce more advanced plant life to complete the terraforming process. The whole process is estimated to take from a hundred to thousands of years.
Book: Pfeffer, Susan Beth. Life as We Knew It . 2006. 352p. Harcourt, $17 (0-15-205826-5). Gr. 7–10. After a meteor hits the moon and disrupts life across the planet, 16-year-old Miranda and her family in rural Pennsylvania struggle to survive in a world where food, warmth, and well-being have vanished.
Title: Terraforming Mars
Content Area(s): Earth/Space, Eng/Tech, Life, PhysicalTopic: Changing Mars to support human life
Short description: Terraforming, or planetary engineering, is the process of altering a planet to make it more hospitable for human life. Since Mars has all the elements needed for life, we should be able to transform the planet with existing technology.
Claim: Humans might be able to terraform the planet Mars.
Keywords: terraforming, Mars
Difficulty of Concept: Easy
Reading Level (Pit Stop 8 Article):
Flesch Reading Ease: 59.0Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 9.1
Lexile: 1060
Next Generation Science Standards:
MS-ETS1 Engineering DesignMS-ETS1-1. Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/LiteracyRST.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations descriptions.
RST.6-8.8 Distinguish among facts and reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text.
WHST.6-8.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
WHST.6-8.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational text to support analysis, reflection and research.
SL.8.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions(one-on-one, in groups, teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Vocabulary Words: colonize, hospitable, oxygen
Topic of Game Introduction Video: Do's and Don'ts: Reasonable Arguments
Link to Game Introduction Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQRkA2BJYWE
Full Text of Article:
If we are ever going to colonize Mars, it is likely we will start with terraforming. Terraforming or planetary engineering is the process of altering a planet to make it more hospitable for human life. Mars is the best candidate for terraforming in our solar system. In this case terraforming would turn Mars into a more Earth-like planet.Mars was once a warm, wet planet. Today it is a cold, desert-like world mostly devoid of water and with a thin atmosphere of mostly carbon dioxide. In order to make Mars habitable for humans, it will be necessary to warm the planet and create a thick atmosphere rich in nitrogen and oxygen. Although no evidence of life has yet been found, Mars has all of the elements we need for life. With only the technologies existing today it would be possible to change Mars into an Earth-like planet. In fact, many distinguished scientists at NASA have carefully gone through the numbers involved and concluded that the terraforming of Mars is not only achievable but plausible.
The temperature of Mars is minus 55 degrees Celsius. So we would first need to heat up the planet. This could be done by directing more of the sun’s energy toward the surface of Mars, perhaps by using huge mirrors. Once Mars becomes warmer, ice would melt and release CO2 that scientist think is trapped in rocks. We would then introduce bacteria and blue-green algae to start turning the CO2 into oxygen gas and to start transforming the soil. As the temperature continues to rise, more greenhouse gases will be released helping to thicken the atmosphere. We could then introduce more advanced plant life to complete the terraforming process. The whole process is estimated to take from a hundred to thousands of years.
References/Sources:
Additional Content:
Author: Cindy Wilbur